Italians on Italians
Beyond Toscano

The Italian for Christmas

The Italian for Christmas
Being a Christian country, many of Italy’s Christmas traditions will be familiar to English speaking countries. But what will be different, naturally, are the words used to describe them. Here are some festive icons, badged the Italian way: 
 
Albero di Natale – the Christmas tree. Usually put up on December 8th and decorated in red and gold. 
 
Buon Natale – you can’t escape this greeting in December, “Merry Christmas”.
Brindisi – the word for a toast, charge your glasses with spumante or prosecco and raise them high. Cheers. 
 
Calza – the children’s Christmas stocking, filled to bursting point with treats and toys. 
 
Capodanno – new year’s eve, when families all across Italy come together to celebrate. 
 
Cenone – Christmas dinner, generally held on Christmas Eve (Vigilia di Natale). 
 
Gesù Bambino – the birthday boy himself, the baby Jesus. Up until Santa became popular, it was Gesù Bambino who delivered gifts to Italian kids. 
 
Presepe – the classic nativity scene, complete with figures of all the major characters in the story.